SST Announces Application-Specific Flash Memories for Intel 800
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2000--
New 2 Mbit, 4 Mbit and 8 Mbit Firmware Hub Products Take Aim at
Chipset Market That Approaches Nearly 100 Million Units Per Year
SST (Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.) (Nasdaq:SSTI - Quotes, News, Boards) today
announced a new family of application-specific flash memories for BIOS
firmware applications of Intel Hub Architecture-based computer
systems. These SuperFlash(R)-based SST Firmware Hub products
incorporate the proprietary FWH interface protocol owned by Intel
Corp. and are read-compatible to the Intel 82802 Firmware Hub product.
SST and Intel also announced today that the two companies have amended
their cross-licensing agreement to cover the Firmware Hub products
using Intel proprietary FWH interface. This makes SST the first Intel
licensee to implement the Firmware Hub products for Intel's 800 Series
Hub Architecture chipsets.(1)
The Intel 82802 Firmware Hub is one of the chips in the Intel
810, 810e, 820 and 840 Hub Architecture chipsets which optimizes the
performance of computer systems based on Intel's microprocessors. By
incorporating the Intel proprietary FWH interface, the new
SST49LF002/004/008 application-specific flash products are designed to
complement Intel's 82801 chip, also known as the I/O Controller Hub
(ICH), and other Hub devices in the Intel 800 Series Hub Architecture
chipsets. The SST49LF00x Firmware Hub family provides up to 8 Mbit of
flash memory array for storing system BIOS and video BIOS for the
Intel Hub Architecture systems.
These new SST Firmware Hub products are based on the core feature
set of SST's MPF(TM) (Multi-Purpose Flash) series -- a family that was
created using the SST SoftPartition uniform sector architecture and
the simple CMOS-compatible SuperFlash manufacturing process. Using the
SoftPartition architecture of the uniform 4 KByte sectors and uniform
64 KByte blocks, the SST49LF00x products allow personal computer
system designers to have better software granularity, which improves
the memory utilization. This allows designers to fit the system BIOS
and video BIOS firmware in a smaller density memory array than those
of typical flash memory devices without the SoftPartition capability.
Therefore, the SoftPartition based SST49LF00x Firmware Hub products
enable the Intel 800 Series Hub Architecture chipset to enhance the
system performance while reduce the overall system cost.
SST's new family of Firmware Hub products will target the Intel
Hub Architecture-based Internet computing market. According to Mercury
Research, a market research firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona, total
PC chipset units shipped in 1999 was 135.9 million, with Intel owning
roughly two-thirds of the market. The total PC chipset market is
expected to grow to about 156.7 million units for 2000. Segments
within that market include PC, workstations, network servers, Internet
appliances, TV set-top boxes and embedded PC BIOS applications.
"Our new Firmware Hub products create a huge market opportunity
for SST," said Eugene Feng, director of marketing at SST. "The fact
that we are the first Intel licensee to implement a Firmware Hub flash
memory solution for the Intel 800 series chipsets is a testament to
the reliability, cost effectiveness and high performance of SST's
SuperFlash technology."
The SST Firmware Hub product family consists of the SST49LF002,
SST49LF004 and SST49LF008 that integrate 2 Mbit (256K x 8), 4 Mbit
(512K x 8) and 8 Mbit (1M x 8) of flash memory, respectively. All
devices in the family have a fast sector-erase time of 18 msec and a
byte-program time of 14 usec, and use a single 3.0-to-3.6V power
supply for read and write operation. The SST49LF00x family offers two
operating modes: a Firmware Hub Interface (FWH) mode for in-system
operation; and a Parallel Programming (PP) mode for fast parallel
production programming during manufacturing. Sample software driver
codes are also available as a reference for writing the In-System
Programming utility that supports BIOS updates in the field. The
standalone programmer tools are available now through major programmer
vendors.
Additional Features of New SST49LF00x Products
-0-
-- Interface to Intel 810, 810e, 820 and 840 chipsets
-- SoftPartition Architecture
-- 4 KByte uniform sector and 64 KByte uniform block erase
capability
-- Superior reliability with SST's SuperFlash technology
-- Typical 100,000 cycles endurance and greater than 100 years of
data retention
-- JEDEC standard SDP (Soft Data Protection) command set for
erase/program operation and boot sectors write protection scheme
to prevent unauthorized firmware alteration
-- Intel 82802 drop-in read-compatible and space saving
package/pinout for ease of use and quick installation
--32-pin TSOP and 32-pin PLCC for 2 Mbit, 4 Mbit and 8 Mbit
devices
Pricing and Availability
SST Firmware Hub SuperFlash Product Family
Part Density Organization Price(2) Samples Volume
Number Availability Production
----------- --------- -------------- -------- -------------- ---------
SST49LF002 2 Mbit 256 Kbit x 8 $1.95 May June
----------- --------- -------------- -------- -------------- ---------
SST49LF004 4 Mbit 512 Kbit x 8 $3.50 Now June
----------- --------- -------------- -------- -------------- ---------
SST49LF008 8 Mbit 1 Mbit x 8 $5.50 September November
----------- --------- -------------- -------- -------------- ---------
(2) All pricing is 100K units ordered.
About SuperFlash Technology
SST's SuperFlash technology is a NOR type, split-gate cell
architecture which uses a reliable thick-oxide process with fewer
manufacturing steps resulting in a low-cost, nonvolatile memory
solution with excellent data retention and higher reliability. The
split-gate NOR SuperFlash architecture facilitates a simple and
flexible design suitable for high performance, high reliability, small
or medium sector size, in- or off-system programming and a variety of
densities, all in a single CMOS-compatible technology.
About Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, SST designs, manufactures
and markets a diversified range of nonvolatile memory solutions, based
on proprietary, patented SuperFlash technology, for high volume
applications in the digital consumer, networking, wireless
communication and Internet computing markets. SST's product families
include high-functionality flash memory components, CompactFlash card
mass storage products and 8-bit microcontrollers with on-chip flash
memory. SST also offers its SuperFlash technology for embedded
applications through its world-class manufacturing partners and
technology licensees IBM, Motorola, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.,
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson Corp., TSMC-Acer Semiconductor
Manufacturing Co. (TASMC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Ltd. (TSMC). Further information on SST can be found on the company's
website at ssti.com. |
